Around this time last year, I was sick in bed with the flu. It was a weekday and I was working for a horse owner who had a few 3yo fillies that I needed to make sure were nominated to the Kentucky Oaks.
I had submitted the paperwork, but I wasn't sure it had been received, so I called my friend Ben Huffman, racing secretary for Churchill Downs and Keeneland. I got him on his cell, but he told me to hold on a sec - and then I heard him rooting a horse home from some television feed in the background. The horse won because Ben cheerfully came on the line and, while apologizing, explained that it was a big Allowance race at Gulfstream and he needed the winner - not just in his fantasy racing league, but for the Derby trail.
The horse was Dunkirk. And the little grey with the perfect pedigree would indeed go on to make the starting gate on the first Saturday in May.
We had a similar situation today: the 6th was a massively important Allowance race that could very well have Derby implications.
The winner: Drosselmeyer ... a beautifully pedigree'd horse - mom was a multiple graded stakes winner and dad is graded stakes winner and leading sire - who has never been worse than third and broke his maiden at Churchill by 6. Today Drosselmeyer stalked the pace and then drew off to win by nearly 2 lengths as the even-money favorite.
While trainer Bill Mott has to be ecstatic (in his very subdued manner) that his charge continues to progress without seeming to peak this early in the game, the mood is probably a bit more quizzical in the Biancone barn this evening.
There were 2 big touts heading into today's race and the one that wasn't Drosselmeyer, was Pulsion. Trainer Patrick Biancone had shipped into south Florida to a) get away from the monster that is Lookin At Lucky, and b) to get the horse onto real dirt. However, the track veterinarian put the kabash on seeing if Biancone's inclinations were correct, as the horse was a vet scratch this morning.
I was looking forward to seeing the 2 horses meet, as not only have they both shown massive amounts of talent, but they couldn't be more opposite: Pulsion's pedigree is an unraced dam and a young stallion with just one sibling who didn't do much; while, as mentioned above, Drosselmeyer is blue-blood all the way around. They also have show talent in different ways on-track: Pulsion is Grade 1 placed, while Drosselmeyer had yet to step out of Maiden Special Weight company.
It might be a knee-jerk reaction, but for as important as the win was today for Drosselmeyer, the lack of Pulsion's presence means I might be a bit more suspect of the weight of the win. I really do hope these two meet in the Fountain of Youth because then we'll be able to get a real feel for what's going on in south Florida - especially if either trounces Holy Bull winner Winslow Homer.
On a windy, 80 degree Saturday in South Beach, let's try to take down the Gulfstream Pick 6 for $32...
Race 5 - 3:07 pm ET / 12:07 pm PT ... $20k Maiden Claiming (22.5-25) for 3yo going 1 mile
Love: 5-Reign of Kings on the class drop, picking up Dominguez, and cutting back in distance - and could be a price; 11-Southern Causeway has a 20% jock/trainer combo and has never raced shorter than today's distance, but the connections have to be hoping that this is as low as he goes class-wise
Like: AE13-Magic Lion gets blinks, keeps Joe Bravo up, and drops down
Leave: 10-Broke by Noon is a 1/2 to the overrated but talented early Market At Midday, so if he's going to be good, now should be the time
Playing: 5 & 11
Race 6 - 3:36 pm ET / 12:36 pm PT ... $27k Allowance for 3yo going 5.5f
Love: 4-River North who broke his maiden at this distance 3 back and should be able to sit just off what could be an all-out war on the front end
Like: 7-Strike the Tiger is the only stakes winner of the bunch and it was at this distance, though the 5-month layoff bugs me
Leave: 5-Paizanothough he's obviously talented, 3 works in a 4 month layoff doesn't thrill me
Playing: 4 & 7
Race 7 - 4:07 pm ET / 1:07 pm PT ... $45k Maiden Special Weight for 3yo going 7f
Love: 3-Game On Dude comes in with a solid work tab for a 25% first time out trainer and has a fantastic pedigree; I remember 6-Bushwacked from the OBS Feb sale last year and I've learned to never throw out a Jonathan Sheppard horse
Like: 8-Warrant Ofc. Cook debuted strong at this level back at Churchill and can only improve from it
Leave: 7-Liquidity Event cost a pretty penny for the Legends Stable and does have a 20% trainer/jock rate, but Zito only fires 5% first time out
Playing: 3
Race 8 - 4:35 pm ET / 1:35 pm PT ... $48k Allowance N1X for 3yo Fillies going 1-/16 miles (T)
Love: 8-Deterrence showed ability on the surface last out after being forced wide early and should like the added distance
Like: 3-Take a Vow has solid works and finds a good spot to step up into for her first time vs. winners
Leave: 7-Miss Olivia Rae doesn't like to win (1) nor hit the board (5) in her 10 starts, so I'd stay away
Playing: 8
Race 9 - 5:08 pm ET / 2:08 pm PT ... $150k G3 Holy Bull for 3yo going 1 mile
Love: 6-Winslow Homer for 41% trainer/jock combo and to keep a near-unbeaten streak alive, though the fact that he's been best on an off track does scare me slightly, but his potentially being a price tips me over the edge; I'm seriously hoping that 8-Aikenite doesn't break my heart again and steps up to show how good he really is here: gets JohnnyV back in the irons who rode him in his debut (and only victory)
Like: 9-Jackson Bend was bought for a price after his last start by an owner who breeds or buys from auction, so he's got to prove he's not a dud or just a Calder freak, but he is a win machine and gets a jock upgrade to Jeremy Rose
Leave: 1-Thank U Philippe has been second at this distance or longer in 3 of his last 4 starts and - though I heart Marty Wolfson - I just don't see him beating this field
Playing: 6 & 8
Race 10 - 5:38 pm ET / 2:38 pm PT ... $22k Maiden Claiming (30-35) for 3yo going 1 mile (T)
Love: 9-Sarah's Tiger could have won last out if not for a bobbled break and has a solid set of works under him for his first start outside of Illinois
Like: 7-Evenforever has been on the improve with time and distance and gets a jock upgrade for non-Calder debut
Leave: 10-Furious Run has flashy credentials ($120k price tag & Bobby Flay as an owner), but has never shown a ton of promise and couldn't win against better at Churchill
This past Monday night, I'm driving with my mom down Wilshire Boulevard and my Pre starts buzzing like a frenzied bee colony - "we must have a new Horse of the Year," Mom says.
Boy - rather, Girl - do we ever! Now that the debate has been settled, we can start to focus on the other parts of the Rachel Alexandra v. Zenyatta story.
I was (admittedly) tough on the Rachel camp last year for not going to the Breeders' Cup and I still feel they made a mistake - even though I do think to push her any harder than 8 races in 7 months could have been a bigger mistake. I was (admittedly) understanding of the Zenyatta camp for facing the boys and then announcing retirement, even though they kept her in training long enough for most of us to expect the inevitable Favreian reversal - and though I think the breeding shed is a safer bet for a mare who has nothing left to prove on the track, you cannot fault the Moss/Shirreffs camp for wanting to keep their superstar in orbit.
And the stats of this supposed rivalry are tremendous: the next start is #15 for both; Rachel's combined win margin is 45-3/4 more lengths, even though Zenyatta's been in training 52% longer (she's older by 2 years, I know, but the numbers don't lie: 1,360 days v. 637), and the stats go on...
Now the big question is when will the ladies stop doing the dance of the socialiates and finally sit down to lunch at the same table?
Personally, I think both of them would be ready - with two preps apiece - for the La Troienne (aka the Louisville Breeders' Cup) on the Kentucky Oaks undercard. This is the same race Zenyatta came into Churchill for last year - and for which she trained like an absolute beast - but was scratched from the morning of, due to fears of a wet track. After that incident, I think John Shirreffs will be more trusting of Butch Lear's ability - there's no one better in the business at getting a track to dry out.
And we all know how much Rachel likes her home turf (or, rather dirt). Oh, and "ironically" enough, the Breeders' Cup is not only not on "plastic" this year but happens to be at Churchill - just like the La Troienne.
I don't think there's a question that a starting gate with these two ladies in it will be among the greatest moments in recent racing history. But - as a fan of this game as much as I work in the sport - I have to ask myself: Do I really want these two to meet?
And, after much deliberation, I honestly have to admit that no, I really don't. I know it's sacrilegious to say such a thing, but I'm not sorry: I don't want to see one of them lose.
It's not about Zenyatta getting her 15th straight or Rachel her 10th - it's the fact that there are two certainties in racing (with a walkover being the exception that proves the rule): someone's going to win and someone's going to lose. Realize that in 26 years and 208 Breeders' Cup races there has been just 1 (one!) dead heat. One of the many reasons I love the call of the 2002 Test Stakes is that Tom Durkin said it: it was a photo finish that didn't deserve a loser - even though the stewards called it and You got the W while Carson Hollow just went back to the barn.
From a business standpoint, I know it would be amazing: it'd be great promotion for a sport that's struggling: our version of David Beckham playing in the MLS. We know that fans turn out in droves to see either mare run, so it's absolutely safe to assume that getting them together would cause even the calmest fire marshall to need oxygen. Heck, we could race for charity instead of purse money - as long as people keep buying wine and music, neither owner is hurting for cash - and we could maybe even convince other owners to run their horses instead of it being just a match race.
Whichever track finally gets these two gals into the same gate is going to have a great day in the handle department, no doubt. And it will be a major coup for a sport that's been dying to see it happen for two racing seasons. But - ask yourself this without geographic bias and knowing that the odds of these two super girls getting their noses on the same line at the same time is near impossible - is an invitation to this meeting really what's best for the sport?
Among the things I witnessed at Cotton Bowl this past week, none may be cooler than what began right after the last player had left the field ... they started rolling up the AT&T turf & started laying down the Cowboys star.
I’m finally on the last of my umpteenth flights of 2009.
For me, this is 3-1/2 hours of reflection on the year that was: all the twists and turns, highs and lows, that fell on the sport I love.
My year started with the 2yo In Training Sales of OBS and Fasig-Tipton. Watching 200+ baby horses go out and prove their talent in quarter-mile snippets, with their breath hanging in little clouds on the heavy misty morning air, provides the most magical aura of hope for the future of the game.
Then we moved into the fun that is Triple Crown season – which, I’m sorry, has to go down as the single craziest in recent memory. First off, we had the scratch of the morning line favorite on Kentucky Derby morning (a very sad personal moment for me), then Calvin Borel takes Mine That Bird up the rail so tight that even Tom Durkin couldn’t keep up in his call of the race for NBC. For the next jewel – in case there wasn’t enough drama with the 50/1-shot Derby winner trying to prove he wasn’t a fluke – we had Jess Jackson causing drama in the jock’s room with the purchase and entry of Kentucky Oaks queen Rachel Alexandra.
For me, the Preakness was an interesting experience: it started with my standing in the press box with Rick Bozich of the Louisville Courier-Journal and Pat Forde of ESPN when news of Big Drama’s stuck-in-his-stall-that-morning drama caused Pat to fold up nearly all of his just-bet tickets; and ended with standing on the jockey’s scale in the winner’s circle watching Rachel become the first filly to win the Preakness in 80-something years. That was just one of those raw moments of love that I have for this game that will never be duplicated.
Then, of course, there’s the Belmont.
Back to Derby for a second: I remember standing next to my old gap on the backside of Churchill three days to the race when this sweet-looking chestnut with a full blaze came off the track and I remember thinking the look in his eye was going to be deadly later in the year.
Fast forward six weeks and they’re loading in the gate for the Belmont – my mother’s on the phone asking me who’s going to win. I was right in my supposition that it was going to be a son of Birdstone from a little known barn, but – yeah – there were two of those in the field and the winner was not Mine That Bird; rather, it was the sweet full-blazed chestnut I had seen back at Churchill – Summer Bird.
And, boy, was he the bird of the summer – he would go on to win the Travers and Jockey Club Gold Cup to cap what was a banner year for a little known trainer and owners who prefer the breeding side of the game.
Throughout the summer, I was privy to some funny one-liners, conversations, and debates about horses, turf courses, tattoos, bars in Saratoga, where the hot dogs were going, and who drank the most iced tea. Because I posted some of these comments – never naming names, for the record – I got in some hot water, and if I stepped on anyone’s toes I do sincerely apologize.
However, the goal of this blog has always been – and always will be – to bring you the world of racing from every angle you won’t find on ESPN/NBC/TVG/HRTV and anyone else who covers racing.
When it came to the fall, there were some amazing moments – the speed freak Zensational (seen at the ‘08 sales) crushing competition in the west coast sprint division, the Bullsbay v Macho Again rivalry in the Midwest, Awesome Gem finally getting back to the winner’s circle for West Point Thoroughbreds, and Richard’s Kid freaking in the Pacific Classic.
Then we get to the crown jewel of racing: the Breeders’ Cup. I could wax poetic about my calling that Ahmed Ajtebi would have a huge day, or that Beautician would hit the board, or that Conduit is still the most gorgeous horse on the grounds and would repeat. But I’d rather focus on the glory that was Zenyatta. I woke up knowing it was going to be a day of zen – not Zensational in the Sprint, but Zenyatta in the Classic.
As Quality “Please Let Me Be A Miler” Road scratched from the gate, I took a quick poll of those around me – could she do it, was Zenyatta about to amaze us all like we all knew she could? My heart was in my throat as they rounded the turn and Zenyatta suddenly thundered through a hole and bounded down the stretch like the true queen she is. I’ve never seen so many grown men cry tears of joy than in that moment.
As we got further into the fall, my final true crowning achievement of 2009 had to be watching Stardom Bound (seen at the ’08 sales) in the paddock for the Gazelle when I realized that Saeed bin Suroor – trainer for Godolphin – was not only in the ‘States but in a full 3-piece suit and walking Flashing onto the track. Saeed had horses running in major stakes in England that weekend but here he was, walking the mentally challenged filly onto the track – and she went on to win by a big margin at a decent price.
There are a plenty of other memories I have of this year – from the two text messages within days of each other that said great stallions Gone West and El Prado were no longer with us, to the collective crowd gasp when Rachel walked into the paddock for the Haskell, to the giddiness of Eurico Rosa da Silva during the press conference after winning the Queen’s Plate. Among the more heartfelt was the apprentice jockeys debating how they would’ve ridden the Kentucky Derby differently than their senior counterparts if they’d just had the chance and the owners’ thank you I got for not glossing over the breakdown of the horse who went down in the last race at Saratoga.
Yet battling for top spots on the memory poll are Rachel in the Woodward and Zenyatta in the Classic – when I didn’t realize I was crying rivers of “waterproof” mascara. Also right up there is the moment Shane Borel came flying up the stairs of the jockey’s room after his uncle Calvin had just won the Derby and my getting the purest dirt-filled happy hug ever in the history of embraces.
I would share more of my millions of memories but, alas, the stewardess has announced the need to shut-off all electronic devices due to landing. I’ll leave you with one last thought for 2009: if this was the year of surprise and upset, what will 2010 be?
For anyone who wants to ask me what I think of the Horse of the Year debate, my answer is this: while I could lay out a case for both Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra, I thought the bigger story was that two girls would be on the final ballot for the first time in the 111 years that the honor has been handed out.
I have a soft spot for the last female Horse of the Year: I had just started at TVG when Azeri was starting her reign over the racing world, highlighted by 2002 Horse of the Year honors. Then, while I was working at Churchill, I was lucky enough to touch (ok, hug!) the superstar when she was yanked from retirement and shipped into D. Wayne Lukas' barn for her whisker-loss run in the '04 Humana Distaff.
What struck me most about Azeri's recent $2.25 million trip through the Keeneland auction ring wasn't the pricetag: that's a fair price in this market for a horse who did what she did on the track but who's still completely unproven as a broodmare.
The more interesting part is that she's going to Japan. But the more I thought about her going to Asia, the less I was surprised.
After all:
My first car was a Ford ZX2, my second a Chevy Blazer. I now drive a Hyundai Elantra.
My high school (which counts Will Ferrell as a grad) was 55% Asian when I started. It was 70% when I graduated.
My office used to be in midtown Manhattan. Now I work on the KoreaTown border.
My mom's fiance is Thai.
While the rest of the world can gripe about buying everything with a Made In China label - racing has long understood that international success doesn't extend to just the European Union or Dubai. And, yes, while the meltdown of the UAE economy will certainly effect racing's many segments, the Asian market is stable and ready to pounce where the Sheiks can't.
In a somewhat ironic twist, the Dubai debt crisis happened just as a slew of American horses - including Belmont/Travers/Jockey Club Gold Cup winner Summer Bird - were making their final preparations for a run in the Japan Cup Dirt - a longstanding end-of-the-season target for many. Things didn't go so well for Summer Bird (or, rather, for his right front leg), but America still had a runner in the field. And many American-based jockeys - including Calvin Borel and Rajiv Maragh - made return trips for the Japan Cup Turf.
Plus, Darley kicked off this week's stallion news with Pyro joining Storming Home in bringing American pedigree to their Japan division (along with fellow Japan residents Silver Charm, Charismatic, and War Emblem).
To boot, the Hong Kong Jockey Club recently hosted a "Name Our Chantal" competition to honor Chantal Sutherland - the only woman to race against 11 men in the Cathay Pacific International Jockey Championship. The contest drew 6,119 in just 5 days (that's an average of over 1,200 submissions per day), while the Kentucky Derby Twitter account has just 2,204 followers in 8 months (and a scant 322 Tweets to its name).
I know most racing folks are wary of the Asian countries because of what happened to Ferdinand. Yes, I share the same "you don't get to kill a Kentucky Derby winner and get away with it" philosophy. But that was a sad wake-up call the industry needed and won't let happen again. Most horses sold or shipped over for breeding purposes have a "return to the US" clause built into their contracts nowadays thanks to him. If we're not going to let horses cross borders where slaughter is legal or horsemeat is eaten, then we'd have to cross Mexico and Canada (respectively) off the list too.
Given that we don't have the centuries it would take US racing to fix itself and Dubai is suddenly not as viable a savior as we'd all planned for, I'm all for Asia stepping in to fill the void. If you don't think they do it right over there, here's some food for thought: even without having on-track wagering, racing is such a draw that they broadcast the major stakes on the jumbotrons of Tokyo's town center.
Can you imagine New York City freezing for two whole minutes while the Kentucky Derby plays in Times Square?
Get a group of horseplayers together and ask 'em who they like and it's going to sound a lot like this:
Racing is a sport built on debate - do you see a toteboard in the middle of Lambeau Field? No. That's because racing (unlike football) depends on 2 things: horses running in circles and folks betting on them. Here is where I'll take the British style of bookmaking over the American style of wagering any day - across the pond, you can wager on not only which number will win today but if the Sea The Stars x Zarkava baby will win the 2014 Arc de Triomphe.
I've got a new bet to add to their lineup: the odds of a singularly unanimous response to "what was the most interesting moment" from the same group of guys as above after a Breeders' Cup weekend like we had at Santa Anita. The odds would probably be the same as that blue blooded 2014 Arc winner is on Ladbrokes right now: 100/1.
But that was exactly the ticket that cashed on Saturday night. In my very unofficial FocusedFilly polling of the media going into the race, I heard about 60/40 in favor of Zenyatta not getting the Breeders' Cup Classic win (or, as track announcer Larry Colmus told me afterwards: we all wanted her to, but no one in the industry really thought she could pull it off). Yet, post-race polling showed that the stand-out moment for every single member of the media was not Vale of York in the Juvenile or even the repeat wins of Goldikova and Conduit (shocking, I know).
One hundred percent of folks had a singular answer to the singular moment question and it was: Zenyatta. This from members of the media who can't agree whether the free hotel ravioli is filled with ricotta or sausage. Not that we needed any more confirmation that what the superfreaky supermare did was extraordinary, but I think her ability to unify a very vociferous press corps makes her eligible for the 2010 Nobel Peace Prize.
Speaking of prizes, the wonderful double edged sword of Saturday's victory is that it now forces a two month blitz from the Zenyatta and Rachel Alexandra camps on just who gets to be Horse of the Year (I'm expecting something on par with the Obama/McCain presidential campaigns minus the shock of adding an Alaskan to the ticket - though they did have a (yes, 1) Thoroughbred stallion a few years back).
Of the 111 previous Horses of the Year, fewer than 10 have been female. So, for the first time in history, we're in for the treat of seeing 2 fillies do battle on the ballots used by the National Turf Writers to determine the ultimate end of the year honor.
A cross country battle royale is all but a given when you consider where these two have campaigned: Zenyatta left Southern California just once this year (to train at Churchill Downs for a month), while Rachel Alexandra has been on 7 tracks in 8 states (none west of the Mississippi).
On Saturday night over cocktails at the media hotel, much of the buzz echoed Zenyatta's owner Jerry Moss' sentiment that she deserves it because she "beat everyone who showed up" (ie: not Rachel). It seemed the tide was turning against months-old beliefs that Rachel sewed up the honor when she bested boys for the second time in the Haskell.
Of the hundreds of conversation snippets overheard, it was amazing to hear just how many votes had seemingly already been cast - before the end of the season, before the Breeders Cup, before the ballots were even printed. Bob Fortus of the New Orleans Times-Picayune was the lone voice of dissent: when asked by a New York writer whether the weekend had changed his mind, he said not in the least, and the reason - when pressed - "I had never let myself make up my mind before getting to today. That's the point of voting at the end of the season."
I don't pretend to know which mare will end up Horse of the Year - they both deserve it and we should have the first ever joint title if it were up to me. But I do know that racing - and its media especially - has a very short memory. And why not? It is a sport about opinions and debate and two minutes after one race is decided, we all turn the page and go at it again (eight-plus times a day). This does not bode well for Rachel Alexandra.
The great thing is that a healthy debate - much like the content of the presidential campaign trails wind up as governmental policy - can only improve the game and raise its profile. It also means that the records and run lines of these great mares will be scrutinized every which way from the Saturdays and Sundays on which they ran and every step of those big races will count twice as much as they did when the gates broke open, the wires were crossed, and the flashbulbs went off.
As lyricist Fred Ebb once explained about the appeal of the song Adelaide's Lament in Guys and Dolls: "Every line in it is worth something. It means something - has impact. It has vitality. It has humor and charm and appropriateness. And I don't know how you can get much better than that."
With the year racing's had and the Horse of the Year ballot we're expecting, I truly don't know how it does get any better.
btw, if you don't get the title of tonight's blog or just saw the video clip for the first time (or really just in general), you must rent the movie - it's truly one of the greats
For the 4th time this year, I get to write a blog about a filly beating the boys impressively in a major stake. But, for the 1st time this year, this is not a story about Rachel Alexandra.
The list of racing's greatest mares includes the likes of Personal Ensign, Ruffian, Paseana, Regret, Lady's Secret, and Winning Colors. And there's no doubt that Rachel's name gets to be added to that list - but not before you see Zenyatta there.
The mare whose gritty style will have your heart in your throat until the wire's shadow has past.
The mare whose every win came with a pre-race dance and ears pricked at the wire.
The mare whose jockey says he still doesn't know how many gears she has.
The mare whose Beyer figures and Sheets numbers never scared you enough to toss her but never had you rushing to the windows.
Zenyatta: the mare who retires a perfect 14-for-14 lifetime.
On a Breeders' Cup weekend that saw 3 returning champs get beat, we also had 3 win (taking liberty that Zenyatta won last year, just in the other Classic). Yesterday was a day for multi-named winners: Life Is Sweet, Man of Iron, Informed Decision, etc. Today, on the other hand, was one for the single named: Zenyatta, Conduit, Goldikova, and Pounced.
It wasn't without controversy - we had the only official jockey objection and steward's inquiry in the Dirt Mile (kudos to Manny Cruz for trying to get the extra purse money for a fading horse who was barely bumped: that may be ok at Calder, but this is the big leagues baby).
Today also wasn't without giant prices. Yesterday's longest shot was $21.60 (Tapitsfly in the Juvenile Filly Turf) ... today had 3 over $40, topped by $63.20 (Vale of York in the Juvenile).
Speaking of Vale of York, yes, you can already pencil him in to the Kentucky Derby starting gate for next year. Don't believe me? When asked about how the horse performed today, Godolphin racing manager Simon Crisford's response was basically "we'll see how it goes next first Saturday in May on the Churchill Downs dirt."
And Churchill Downs' John Asher has admitted to already adding to the bio book for next year's Derby - and for a great reason: Vale of York's rider is a Dubaian apprentice jockey who literally makes a second living riding camels in the UAE desert and was deported from the UK at some point for what I'm told were "immigration issues". If you're not already, I highly recommend following Ahmed Ajtebi on Facebook - the kid's hysterical.
Among the other racing news, we saw a wonderful career closeout performance by Conduit - the dual Turf winner will soon head off to Japan to start life as a stallion. I find it a truly remarkable circle of racing life that Conduit's stallion, Dalakhani, will now be neighbors at the Aga Khan's Gilltown Stud with Sea The Stars, who just beat Conduit in the Arc in what would turn out to be both of their final performances on European soil.
Then there's Goldikova - your repeat Mile winner. Remember when folks said Rachel was the only 3yo filly to be facing (let alone beating) older males? Yeah, well, US memories are short when it's a Euro we're talking about. Regardless, Goldikova proved she's as gusty and gritty and yet girly as they come - she took on 2 tough (if not stellar) Breeders' Cup Mile fields and did the near impossible: she won. That now makes 4 dual Mile winners, 3 of those consecutive (Miesque and Lure being the other 2).
When asked about what honor Zenyatta should receive given her record and performances this year, jockey Mike Smith said simply and honestly that "she's the Horse of the Decade". There's no doubt that the debates that have already been started will now rage like a true Southern California wildfire about Horse of the Year and other end of year honors - Zenyatta, Rachel Alexandra, Summer Bird, Gio Ponti, Mine That Bird, etc.
I'm not a turf writer and therefore don't have an official vote, but I'm seriously thinking that this weekend be called the Breeders' Cup of the Decade.
I'm investing in a dart board. Why? Glad you asked: today is one of those cards where I want to put the Form up on a wall and simply throw darts at it to pick my plays. It's one of the tougher cards I've ever seen and yesterday's shutout of favorites has me a little freaked to single anyone who seems to be a lock.
With that said, here's my stab at what's going to happen...
Juvenile Turf: I personally am not an 11-Interactif fan, so I would totally rather look at Kenny McPeek's charge 7-Bridgetown, but I'm going the Euro route with 4-Pounced because his Sheet numbers put him square in the mix and John Gosden doesn't ship unless he's got talent
Turf Sprint: I want to see a filly sweep on boy's day, so I gotta root for a 9-Diamondrella over 7-Gotta Have Her exacta, but John Sadler thinks his best shot of the weekend is 1-Noble Court and that's lofty enough praise for me
Sprint: we may be in for a broken track record with the ridiculous speed duel that's going to take place here and 1-Zensational doesn't break clean so will probably not be a part of it and wants no part of closing so he's a totally beatable favorite; 5-Gayego is the non-route buzz horse of the week, but my gut says 8-Capt. Candyman Can closes like a freight train and gets the glory
Juvenile: with 13-Lookin At Lucky drawing the far outside Lucky 13 post, this goes one of two ways for me, as I see either 5-D'Funnybone stealing it on the lead (if his record & Sheet numbers hold and he keeps incrementally stepping up, then he's going to be tough to beat); otherwise 9-Aikenite (the only horse I wanted to buy from the sales all season and my biggest buzz horse of the year so far) closes into the pace and gets the win for Dogwood
Mile: the start of the DartBoardPick4 here begins with crushing my big Keeneland play last out 5-Karelian, but it's all 11-Goldikova here (I don't care about the outside post when you have such a freakily talented horse) with 8-Zacinto and 7-Fernely behind her; quick shoutout to the jockey of 9-Gladiatorus, who's Facebook page is truly fun to follow
Dirt Mile: a good friend who's handicapping I trust implicitly says that 1-Mastercraftsman is the bullgoose of the week (strutting around like he owns the joint), so I gotta heart that; and I'm looking for a price underneath from either 4-Bullsbay or 7-Pyro
Turf: 2-Conduit was my play of last year and I still love him, so for the exotics I'm thinking the filly 5-Dar Re Mi completes a Euro exacta and the (banned in the UK because he can't load into a gate) 7-Spanish Moon gives us the imported trifecta
Classic: what a race to end with! I truly believe that 4-Zenyatta gets the win (distance and other horses going with her won't be a factor - she's as bigger freak than Goldikova); 2-Colonel John is as consistent as they come & absolutely loves synthetics/Santa Anita so he's gotta be on the ticket, and I round out insanity with either 8-Einstein (gotta root for the hardest working horse in showbiz - he gives 110% every single time) or 10-Rip Van Winkle (the supposed feet issues don't scare me)
As a sidenote to the Classic, please do not get me started on the ridiculousness of 7-Gio Ponti and 12-Quality Road ... the former is an utter grass horse who could trounce the now 7 horse field in the Turf even though it's not at his preferred distance; the latter should be in the Dirt Mile because - as I've said time and time again - he doesn't want to go too much further than 8 furlongs.
A non-TrackRat friend asked me earlier this month why the Breeders' Cup is special. "The Kentucky Derby is like the MLB All Star Game," he said, "everyone's heard of it, even if we don't really understand exactly what it is."
If the Derby is the All Star Game, that makes Breeders' Cup the World Series, right?
I live in New York, so the fact that the Yankees just won their 27th Championship is pretty big news (so big in fact that their celebratory parade preempted even Oprah on local television today). And there isn't really a pinstriped lineup in recent memory that hasn't been listed at some point during the season as a favorite for pennant contention.
But they still have to play 162 games a year. And the same is true in racing: they still have to load the horses into the gate and send 'em round the track. And, last I checked, the teams (and horses) who do it best all year long wind up in the championships. But the Yankees don't always win - and neither do the favored horses.
The working theory on racing favorites is a 33% win rate - not too bad, not too good. Today's Breeder's Cup card probably skews the curve some ... 0 for 6. 0%. As I say to my dog when he asks for table scraps: none, zilch, zip, nada, nanka. That's - umm - disturbing.
Now, that said, the biggest price on the day was only $21.60 for Tapitsfly in the Juvenile Fillies Turf. That means the prices were fairly logical all day long. However, fate (otherwise known as whatever God you pray to when you're half of a photo finish) did pitch a Favorites Shutout today at Breeders' Cup Stadium.
Who got beat? Three returning winners, a slew of international stars, and much of the best fillies (and colts for those who played the Marathon) that America had to offer.
Who won is the better question: if winning today was a pitcher's dream, then homebreds were it's A-Rod. Five of the six horses walking around the winner's circle decked out in a golden blanket of flowers were owned by the same folks who'd paid for their birth to be possible. That's staggering. It's also a statement on where the sport's heading (we live in a world where Overbrook is dispersing all of their horses) - I, for one, wouldn't object to a "old new age" of racing - remember when Juddmonte owned turf racing? It was good business.
And today gave us more than a few glimmers that yesteryear isn't too far gone: the breeding on the new Marathon and Distaff/Ladies Classic winners alone is enough to make me squeal - the former is Man of Iron (half brother to Belmont winners - with an "s" - Rags to Riches and Jazil, and G2 winner Casino Drive); the latter is Life Is Sweet (full sister to 2004 champion juvenile filly Sweet Catomine).
Among the great things about Life Is Sweet getting the victory was how she overpowered what were thought to be much better horses, did it with ease, and established her rightful place outside of Zenyatta's shadow. And it does prove that John Shirreffs was going to win the Distaff/Ladies Classic for a second straight year with whatever it took - Zenyatta, Life Is Sweet, or a claimer if he had to.
See, I always saw Life Is Sweet as the pinch runner on the roster: she earned her spot to play in every game, but never really got the glory of hitting the grand slam. If I say Brett Gardner, you probably would say "who?" He's the guy the Yankees bring in to score crucial runs off base hits late in the game. Gardner's made a name for himself stealing bases and today Life Is Sweet earned her own pinstripes with her version of a clutch hit: but this one came with a $2,000,000 kicker. No RBI needed.
As every coach (and handicapper) must ask: what did we learn from today's game? We saw the track play fair with the rail the strongest route, and 0% favorites with 83% homebreds. If I may move from baseball to football analogies here: as Pete Carroll must've said after last week's Oregon game: this is not what I was expecting.
Going to the track goes back generations in my family. And one ride on a pony named Coco at 18 months old had me hooked.
Standing in the Del Mar paddock for my 15th birthday, it hit me that racing was the career I wanted. And that got jumpstarted on a June 2002 Friday night at Hollywood Park: after winning $55 on a first time starter, I ran into a producer from TVG, which led to a job.
In 2003, I moved to Louisville for college. In town just two days, Churchill Downs’ then-racing secretary offered me a job with the clockers for the 2003 Fall Meet. My first morning, a trainer asked how his horse had done: she was (eventual Grade 1 winner) Stellar Jayne and he was (hall of famer) D. Wayne Lukas.
Since then I’ve had some pretty cool gigs: Churchill’s Corporate Communications intern (2004), Tour Director for Three Chimneys Farm (2005), TVG’s Racing Information Coordinator (2006), Manager of Racing Operations for Puglisi Racing (2008-2009), etc…
In my “spare time” I co-host a Louisville-based radio show (the Kentucky Winner’s Circle heard Saturday’s on WKJK-1080am), contribute to sites like the New York Times’ The Rail, and work major sporting events like the Cotton Bowl.
